John Arcilla is the first Filipino and the first Southeast Asian actor to win the Volpi Cup for Best Actor award at the Venice International Film Festival for his performance in On the Job: The Missing 8, which earned him Best Actor at the Gawad Urian Awards.
47 Facts About John Arcilla
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John Arcilla was born in Quezon City, Philippines, to Dominador Gil Alemania Arcilla and Eustaquia Gonzales, a descendant of President Manuel L Quezon.
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John Arcilla was a member of the community-based Philippine Educational Theater Association-Metropolitan Teen Theater League.
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John Arcilla was an acting scholar of the Actors Workshop Foundation under Laurice Guillen, Johnny Delgado, and Leo Martinez from 1987 to 1990.
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John Arcilla joined Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas in 1988 and was a member until 1989.
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From 1991 to 1997, John Arcilla was a resident actor and senior member of Tanghalang Pilipino's Actor Company, the resident theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines.
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John Arcilla was part of the main cast of Rama at Sita, a 1999 Filipino musical adapted from the Indian epic Ramayana.
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In 2000, John Arcilla became a guest actor for Repertory Philippines and played Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman.
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John Arcilla has been in various television commercials for brands including Tide and Gold Eagle, and companies such as National Steel Corporation and Development Bank of the Philippines.
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John Arcilla gained exposure through a 1994 TV commercial for Purefoods with the slogan "", which led to his involvement in more projects outside the theater.
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John Arcilla appeared in various television shows in 1987, including the variety show Goin' Bananas as a "gag artist", as well as in the drama anthologies Lovingly Yours, Helen and Star Drama Theater Presents.
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John Arcilla had a larger role in Raymond Red's first full-length feature, Bayani, in 1992, where he played General Mariano Noriel, a member of the War Council that oversaw Andres Bonifacio's case in 1897.
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In Sakay, John Arcilla played General Leon Villafuerte, the revolutionary chief of staff in Macario Sakay's Tagalog Republic.
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John Arcilla won Best Actor at the 1996 Manila Film Festival for his role as Lino in the film Mulanay.
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From 1998 to 2005, John Arcilla starred in several supporting roles in film and television, including the 2000 drama series, Pangako sa 'Yo, the 2003 action-crime drama, Basta't Kasama Kita, and 2005 fantasy drama, Sugo.
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John Arcilla played the lead role in the film adaptation of Tony Perez' play about infidelity, Sa North Diversion Road.
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John Arcilla was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role at the 2007 Golden Screen Award and earned a nomination for Movie Actor of the Year at the Star Awards for Movies.
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John Arcilla returned to television in 2010 in the suspense drama Magkaribal.
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John Arcilla had a cameo role in the 2012 spy thriller, The Bourne Legacy, playing the head security guard.
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John Arcilla played Mariano Trias in the Emilio Aguinaldo biopic, El Presidente.
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John Arcilla was in the cast of Lilet Never Happened, which won the Best Cast Ensemble at the 2013 International Film Festival Manhattan.
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John Arcilla earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 16th British Independent Film Awards.
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In 2014, John Arcilla was part of the cast of Muslim Magnum.
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John Arcilla starred in episodes of Magpakailanman and Maalaala Mo Kaya.
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In 2015, John Arcilla played General Antonio Luna in the historical biopic film, Heneral Luna.
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John Arcilla received a Best Actor nomination at the 10th Asian Film Awards.
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In 2016, John Arcilla was part of the cast of Mikhail Red's Birdshot, where he played the senior police officer Mendoza.
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John Arcilla starred in the short film Supot, directed by Phil Giordano.
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John Arcilla won the Craft Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 2017 First Run Festival, New York.
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From 2017 to 2022, John Arcilla played Renato "Buwitre" Hipolito, a power-hungry and corrupt government official and the main antagonist in FPJ's Ang Probinsyano.
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In 2019, John Arcilla made two horror movies, Second Coming and Kuwaresma.
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John Arcilla starred in the comedy film, The Panti Sisters, where he played Don Emilio, the stern father of three gay sons.
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In 2020, John Arcilla played the lead role of Fernando Suarez in the biographical film, Suarez: The Healing Priest.
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John Arcilla received a nomination as Best Actor in a Leading Role for the 2020 Metro Manila Film Festival and won the Best Actor of the Year at the 37th PMPC Star Awards for Movies.
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In 2021, John Arcilla starred in Erik Matti's On the Job: The Missing 8 as the journalist Narciso "Sisoy" Salas, a role for which he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor.
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John Arcilla appeared in A Hard Day, a Filipino adaptation of the 2014 Korean action-thriller film of the same title.
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John Arcilla received a Best Supporting Actor Award for A Hard Day from the 24th Gawad Pasado in 2022.
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In 2022, John Arcilla starred in the suspense thriller film Reroute.
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John Arcilla played Carlos Fiero, the main antagonist on ABS-CBN's 2023 drama series Dirty Linen.
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In September 2023, John Arcilla became the host of the TV5 game show SpinGo.
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In 2024, John Arcilla played the father of a gay wrestler in Fuchsia Libre from Mavx Productions.
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John Arcilla has earned numerous acting awards and nominations in the Philippines and abroad.
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In 2013, John Arcilla received his first international acting nomination as Best Supporting Actor at the British Independent Film Awards for the film Metro Manila.
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In 2017, John Arcilla received his first international Best Supporting Actor Craft Award from the First Run Festival for the short film Supot.
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In 2021, John Arcilla was awarded the Volpi Cup for Best Actor from the Venice Film Festival for the film On the Job: The Missing 8.
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John Arcilla received a Best Supporting Actor Award for his role in the film Ligaya Ang Itawag Mo Sa Akin from Gawad Urian in 1997.
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John Arcilla was awarded the Dangal ng Aurora by his home province in 2005 for his work in theater, film, and television.